Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-02-04
REMEMBER THE ALAMO"
Is THERE AN IRREPRESSIDLE
CONFLICT ABROAD YET.

TeXAn ira 'Denuence - Brave Pol v
Grayson-The Capture Ofthe Georgia
Battalion-how They Were Ruthlessly
Butchered.
trom the 81. Louis Repu5Ucam.
Being in Texas not ong since, when
war cloud seemed lowering over her Mex
lean frontier, l took much interest in as
pertaining the popular feeling on the SUBJ
jcct OF conflict with Mexico, and found
1t pretty well voiced in the words of an
old but stanch veteran, who claimed to
have been, when little more than a boy,
one of the gallant band VINO fought under
Sam Houston's leadership for the indie
pendence Of the Lone Star" State.
Texas and Mexico" he said, lean
never be- DeaceaDle neighbours. Texans
are white men, and 'greasers' amt; and
there's nothing in common between them
out yearning to sun for each other. 1t
is not only tnat all the ideas OF the two
people are antagOnlslic, and that it is our
natural interest TO keep our property,
and their natural desire to steal 1T, but
there IS something else that keeps the
shooting-ir0ns ready on each side-an old
erudge. We have not forgotten the
Alamo, and they remember
San Jacnto. Those names are not
simply memories of the old among us, but
traditions that thrill the blood OF the
young. / met lad only bit ago that
was fresh home from an Eastern college,
who has been away for five years, and
was only boy when he left home, but he
is Just as eager for hack at the 'greas-
srs' as L am myself, and he wouldn't be
POLLY GRAYSON'S GRANDSON
il he wasn't. Who was Pollys Grayson"
Well, FL tell you about her ana that
story VIII give you some Idea why we re-
member the Alamo"
Jedediah Parmlee came out here with
Stephen F. Austin's colony OF American
settlers, in 1921, from some place in Con-
necticut-Harttord,I think-and took up
land on the Brazos. His family consisted
OF wife and two children, n girl or )
years old that they called Pauline, and a
boy year older with the queer name of
Melchlsedecn.
few years after Mrs. Parmlee was
killed and scalped by the Indians, who
were put up by the sneaking, treacherous
MeXicRns to attack the settlers. But
Parmlee suck to his place ami though he,
like all the rest. had mighty hard Jussle
TO geS along for few years, he managed
TO raise his children, and | tell you they
were worth raising. Mel, as we called
the boy for short, was as fine
young chap as you ever saw,
and Polly one of the preJtiest
girls that even Texas could produce, by
the time we wer driven to declare our
Independence of Me Eco in 1886 Only a
month or two before that great event in
our history, Polly married young man
named Fred Grayson, farmer, who lived
Dear Parmlee's place. l call her Polly,
although her name was Pauline, you I'M
derstand, because we were neighbOrs and
friends, and there was a good deal more
familiarity than style among us in those
a hot nrtn f Of Ec fp
SANTA ANNA,
the Mexican President, as soon as he
learned that we would not quietly submit
to be robbed and kicked out OF the coun-
try, that we had made valuable by fifteen
years of toll and nardsnips, which was
what he intended to do from the time he
got into power. came atus with great biz
army, fully purpOsing to wipe us off the
surface of the earth. 1t was duSky pros
pect for Texas. Pretty much every man
and boy we had that was able to carry "a
gun turned out for the common detense
but with all We could muster, Santa An
ma had four times as many, and if his
forces had been men instead of "greas-
ers," IT0n't suppose any Of US would
have been left alive.
Chance split up POlly's men folks so
that her father was with the heroic Lieut..
Col. Travis; her husband was serving in
was III Col. Fannin's Inflated command,
while ner brother Mel, who happened to
be away from home when the trouble be-
gan, in some way got among Col. Wards
Georgia volunteers, and, concluding that
that was as good a place to shoot from as
any other, stayed with them.
Col. Travis, with his 100 men, was be-
sieged IN the little fort at Beias by 5000
MeXoans, and fought them from Feo. %
to March +. Then the Texans ammuni-
ton was exhausted and the MeXicans
TOOK THE FORT BY AN ASSAULT.
The greasers had lost 1000 OF their
number IN the siege and the final assault,
and when they got in they only found
one man Of the gallant defenders alive.
and he was wounded. That man was
Jedediah Parmlee. and the greasers de-
Iberately put muSket to his gray head,
as he lay helpless on the ground, and
blew his brains out.
Col. ards Georgia battalion, 100
strong, with Mel. Parmlee in the ranks,
We're Shut up IN the Mission Refugio by
LOCO MeXlcans, and had one whole day
OF desperate and continuous fighting, in
which they killed 400 Mexicans, without
one OF their number having been killed
and only three were 30 badly wounded
That they could not be taken along when
the little garrison abandoned the place
6nd made good their escape under cover
OF the night. Those three, by the way,
were LETT on the Mission floor, in the con-
fdent expectation that they would receive
from their captors the consideration &C
corded among civilized people to wound
ell prisoners OF war. The fact was that
rs soon as the Greasers rushed in The
next morning they blew out the brains of
the three wounded men, one of whom was
dying at the time they entered.
THE GEORGIA BATTALION
were captured byan Overwhelming MeXi-
can force on the road between Victoria
and DemilPs Point, and were marched in
Us prisoners TO La Bahia, of the COM
landancy Of the Alamo, where tue sur
lvors of Col. Fannin's 400 men, who mad
Ten captured a few days before, were
Eeady held.
'Ol. Fannin had been attacked on the
mrch by q force OF 1900 MeXicans, we'll
supplied with artillery and cavalry, and
aiI' gallant defense, at great dlsad-
NalAges, in the open prairie, wheu their
AMMUNITION was exhausted, surrendered
10 N. Urea, the commandment OF that
Wlnaf the Mexican army. According to
the tms Of the capitulation, the treat
menIf prisoners OF war, according to